As many as 60 government departments and agencies have signed up to the Office of Government Commerce's (OGC) cross-departmental legal panels, it was revealed this week.

The OGC said the scheme, which was launched in March last year, remained on track to save the taxpayer 7 million in legal fees over three years through arrangements with the 32 panel firms.

The Crown Prosecution Service, the Home Office, HM Treasury, the Department of Transport and the Department of Health are among those to have joined the scheme during the year.

The scheme consists of a series of framework agreements for the provision of legal services to government - known as L-CAT - and achieves discounted fees in seven areas: IT; telecommunications and e-commerce; property and estates; human resources; construction; company and corporate; finance and banking; and other general commercial matters.

City firm Field Fisher Waterhouse features on all seven panels, while three firms - west country firm Bevan Ashford, City firm Denton Wilde Sapte and Veale Wasbrough in Bristol - are on five of the panels.

OGC spokesman Martin Day said: 'Through Buying Solutions, our trading arm, we are constantly marketing L-CAT to departments.'

Mr Day said other departments are keen to sign up to L-Cat once their existing contractual arrangements come to an end.

Tim Davies, a partner at Field Fisher Waterhouse, said the firm had received a great deal of work through the project.

He added that while the government had not negotiated on fees during the initial tendering process, all firms had been encouraged to pitch their most competitive rate.

Rachel Rothwell